Klarinet Archive - Posting 000079.txt from 2003/04

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] Curious
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:30:18 -0400

I 've just acquired my very own C clarinet, and found myself choosing one rather than another because it sounded better to me, overall. Doesn't everybody believe this when choosing a new instrument?
Roger S.

In message <3E8AF9B4.6040100@-----.org writes:
> Nancy, I have no way to dispute your personal opinion of the value of
> Peter Eaton clarinets, nor do I wish to do so. But your statement is
> just a further assertion that the character of sound one gets from the
> clarinet is due exclusively to the clarinet itself, and I once again
> suggest that statement to be very problematic.
>
> While Eaton may make a superior clarinet with respect to many mechanical
> things, neither he nor anyone else can make an intrument that
> fundamentally produces a radically different sound character FOR YOU.
>
> Your sound is fundamentally formed when the air leaves your mouth. It
> is due mostly to the nature of your body, your chest capacity, your
> sinuses, even the dental formation in your mouth and the shape of your
> lips. It is true that a bad mouthpiece can ruin all of this, but I am
> presuming that you have a good one and used it on both the Eaton
> clarinet and your current instrument.
>
> I'm not trying to jump on you, but I point out that much of the "this
> time around" portion of this discussion began when a nice young person
> said that he or she wanted to change from his LeBlanc to some other kind
> of clarinet because he wanted to get a better sound. It is has been
> continuously argued by me and other players over the last 10 years of
> this list that such a change may bring many fine things to a player, but
> a better sound is probably not going to be one of them, presuming one
> goes from one well-manufactured instrument to another.
>
> And we say this over and over because your sound character produced on a
> clarinet does not, all things being equal, come from the clarinet.
> Thus, when you say that the Eaton clarinet produces the richest sound
> you ever got from a clarinet, I am suspicious of what you say, not
> because you are an untruthful person but because it violates logic,
> physics, and common sense.
>
> What you get from a clarinet in terms of sound is the basic clarinet
> personality. You know it is not a tuba or an oboe or a flute. It's a
> clarinet sound and it is recognizable as one. But the character of that
> sound -- the thing you want to sound like chocolate fudge -- is produced
> by your body, your embouchure, and your mouthpiece.
>
> I once knew a very good tenor. Lovely voice. He would go to
> performances of great tenors convinced that they had a secret which
> enabled them to get a great tenor sound, and all he really needed were
> the details of that secret. He once suggested that it was the patches
> on the elbows of Bjorling's sports coat that gave Bjorling his exquisite
> sound. Nothing would convince him that Bjorling sounded the way he did
> because of his body characteristics, and nothing ever convinced him that
> his own sound came from his body, and that, all things being equal,
> there wasn't much that he could do to change it beyond studying to
> achieve the best sound that his body was capable of producing.
>
> Clarinet players spend years of aggrevation trying to improve their
> sound character by changing clarinets, reeds, shoes, ligature,
> sweethearts, and hair styles. And in those years of work, their sound
> gets better because they get greater control over those body parts that
> enable a great sound character. But, not knowing this, they presume it
> was the clarinet or the reed or the shoes or the hair style or whatever.
>
> Don't ask a manufacturer or a musical instrument salesperson this
> question for he or she will tell you that only THEIR clarinet will make
> you sound like a god. It's a lot of marketing doo-doo.
>
> DNL
>
> Buckman, Nancy wrote:
> >>>>I am extremely happy with my Peter Eaton.
> >>>
> >
> > If I didn't have the problems with my hands and heavy clarinets, I would have bought Peter Eatons. My first experience with them was when I was in England in 1995. I was traveling through the country and while in London, happened across them in a shop. The shop owner was playing on one and let me try it. Someone recently spoke of "chocolate fudge" in reference to a bass clarinet. Well, let me tell you, there is no Bb to equal the "chocolate fudge" Peter Eaton. It has the richest sound of any clarinet I ever played. The only drawback was that it was heavy, and my hands won't support the weight, even with a strap.
> >
> > Nancy
> >
> > Nancy E. Buckman, Technical Assistant
> > School of Health Professions, Wellness and Physical Education
> > Anne Arundel Community College
> > Arnold, MD 21012-1895 USA
> > Phone 410-777-2316 Fax 410-777-2233
> > E-mail nebuckman@-----.edu
> >
> >
> > -
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> ***************************
> **Dan Leeson **
> **leeson0@-----.net **
> ***************************
>
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